Solar Cooking
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Last edited: 11 February 2014      

Events

Cuisson Solaire logo, 2-8-24
  • NEW: 13-14 April 2024 (Sorède, France): Solar cooking gathering at Sorède - An upcoming event for solar cooks in southern France, a few miles from the French and Spanish border, at the site of the historically famous Sorède solar furnace (Mas del Ca) built in 1900. On Saturday, there will be a workshop for solar cooks, led by Celestino Ruivo. Participants will be introduced to different types of solar cookers, and shown how to construct their own funnel cooker. The cost is EUR 15 , or EUR 25 if you want materials to be provided for you to make your own reflector. If the weather is good, there will be a solar cooked lunch. On Sunday, there will be two lectures about solar cooking, and a large display of solar cookers. See the posters for more information - Saturday, Sunday
Inti logo 1, 3-26-24
See also Calendar of events

News and Recent Developments

French solar food cart, 2-10-14

A customer in France has created this beautiful rolling solar kitchen using reflectors from Sun and Ice. See more photos on the facebook page.

  • February 2014: French solar cuisine done with style - Sun and Ice shares photos of one of their reflectors incorporated into a portable solar kitchen, created by one of their customers in France. The small, trailered construction is a rolling work of art. See more photos on the facebook page.
  • July 2009: French personality Jerome Bonaldi introduced several models of solar cookers to a national, prime time television audience during a technology segment on the France 2 network.
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  • March 2008: French nongovernmental organization Synopsis is collaborating with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ)-implemented Programme for Biomass Energy Conservation (ProBEC), based in Johannesburg, South Africa, to develop a meter that will be installed in solar cookers to track use in real time. Traditionally, solar cooker use and fuel savings have been determined through surveys, or by estimating the amount of fuel required to cook over a period of time versus the actual amount of fuel used. These approaches can take a lot of time and resources, and the results aren’t always reliable or convincing to skeptics. Dr. Michael Grupp thinks there is a better way. He says his invention, the Synopsis Use Meter (SUM), will automatically determine the quantity of food being cooked, the cooking temperature, the cooking time, and the number of “meal portions” prepared in the cooker. When compared to baseline emissions, this data yields actual greenhouse gas reduction figures produced by the respective household, which could be sold through a voluntary carbon market to help offset the cost of the solar cooker.
  • July 2007: This past March in Paris, France, Regula Ochsner received the Yves Rocher Foundation’s international "Women of the Earth" award for her work promoting solar cookers in Madagascar. The award honors women who lead actions benefiting nature and humanity. The award ceremony was attended by Madame Nelly Olin, French Minister for the Environment. In 2001 Ochsner founded the Association pour le Développement de l'Energie Solaire Suisse – Madagascar (ADES) to help combat rampant deforestation. Ochsner lived in Madagascar in the early 1970s and was shocked, when she visited in the late 1990s, at the amount of deforestation that had occurred in a period of just 25 years. (Madagascan families use about 100 kilograms of charcoal on a monthly basis, amounting to one-sixth of an average monthly salary.) Ochsner researched cooking alternatives that would reduce firewood and charcoal use, and discovered solar cookers. Madagascar, especially in the south of the country, has close to ideal conditions for the use of solar energy. Ochsner initiated production of solar box cookers by local carpenters in 2001, followed by distribution and sales. In 2003 ADES built a more permanent carpentry workshop in Tulear and another in Ejeda in 2006. ADES currently provides employment to 13 carpenters and trainers. The teaching of the population to use solar cookers is an important part of ADES’ work. Regular demonstrations on how to use the solar cooker take place. The interest level of the population is very high. Over 1500 solar cookers have been sold thus far. A survey of the usage of the solar cookers conducted by two German students in 2004 showed that 75% of the solar cookers were used regularly. Ochsner plans to invest the prize money of 10000 euro in a further solar cooker pilot project in the south of Madagascar. Future plans include development of regional centers in Morondava and Fort Dauphin.
  • April 2007: “Bon Appétit Monsieur Soleil,” a film about solar cooking in Burkina Faso, earned top honors and a 5000 euro prize at the International Ecological Film Festival in Bourges this past October. The film was directed by Boris Claret and produced by Association La Trame documentary film studio. The festival program described the film as follows: “At the edge of the Sahel, firewood is rare and expensive. To counter deforestation, a whole network of nongovernmental organizations, craftsmen welders, and women’s associations have developed for 10 years an effective alternative: parabolic solar cookers.” For more information visit La Trame’s Web site: http://www.la-trame.org

Climate, Culture, and Special Considerations

Resources

Blogs

Discussion groups

Articles in the media

Audio and Video

Four_solaire_et_cuiseur_solaire March 2008: French personality Jerome Bonaldi introduced several models of solar cookers to a national, prime time television audience during a technology segment on the France 2 network.

Web pages

Contacts

The entities listed below are either based in France, or have established solar cooking projects there:

SCI Associates

NGOs

Manufacturers and vendors

Individuals

Government agencies

Educational institutions

See also

References


Gallery of manufacturers and vendors